JuD threatens stir over MFN status to India

Islamabad: The Jamaat-ud-Dawah, blamed for
the 2008 Mumbai attacks, has threatened to organise a sit-in
protest at the Wagah land border crossing if Pakistan grants
Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India.

JuD leaders, including Ameer Hamza, Hasnain Siddique and
Hafiz Khalid Waleed, issued the warning while addressing a
gathering at Chowburji in Lahore during a protest organised
on Friday to oppose the move to grant India MFN status.

JuD workers burnt Indian flags and shouted anti-India
slogans.

The JuD leaders warned that a "people’s tsunami" would
throw the "pro-India and pro-America ruling lobby out of
power".

Hamza claimed India has building "dozens of dams" to stop
the flow of rivers to Pakistan to turn the country into a
desert.

Both the JuD and the Jamaat-e-Islami organised protests
at several places in the country yesterday against the
government’s decision to normalise trade ties with India.

The government’s move was criticised by clerics during
sermons at Friday prayers as both JuD and the Jamaat-e-Islami
observed a "protest day".

Leaders of both parties described Pakistan`s move as an
acceptance of India’s supremacy and the betrayal of the
Kashmir movement.

They called for a total ban on trade with India.
In Lahore, senior Jamaat-e-Islami leader Liaqat Baloch
claimed the Pakistani people would not endorse the cabinet’s
decision to eventually grant MFN status to India.

Jamaat-e-Islami chief Munawar Hasan said Pakistan’s
military leadership should explain its position regarding the
Prime Minister’s statement that the armed forces had been
taken on board for efforts to normalise trade ties with India.